The Baltimore Orioles found themselves caught up in a huge controversy on Monday when their decision to suspend broadcaster Kevin Brown for absurd reasons came to light. Less than a day later, the organization appears to be backing down.
Brown is set to return to broadcasts starting Friday when the Orioles face the Seattle Mariners, according to Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner. It was not clear if the Orioles made the decision in response to the backlash they have received over the original suspension, or if they had always planned to put Brown back on the air at that point.
Brown will have been off the air for 16 days when he does return. He was originally suspended for an innocuous remark about the team’s recent lack of success against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field — a record that has turned around this season, which was Brown’s entire point. The absurd reason for the suspension made national headlines and led other broadcasters to publicly defend Brown and pointedly criticize the Orioles.
The Orioles enter play Tuesday at 70-42 and have the best record in the American League. This self-inflicted controversy has detracted from the team’s on-field success, so it makes sense that they would want to fix this as quickly as possible. On the other hand, the suspension never made sense in the first place, so it’s probably not safe to assume this was as obvious a U-turn as it should have been.
